The problem is that speaking one's mind within the limited frameworks provided does very little. In order to get a politician to pay attention you must, at minimum, make them uncomfortable or threaten their political future.

Here's a concrete example of what "telling your representative what you'd like them to do accomplishes (received in response to a letter I wrote to my senator against KOSA):

Thank you for writing to share your thoughts regarding online safety for children and teens. I appreciate hearing from you.

Our children are among the most vulnerable members of our society, and I strongly believe that we have an obligation to care for their mental and physical well-being. Digital platforms have become key spaces for education, socialization, and entertainment for young people, and it is important that they are able to utilize these services safely.

The “Kids Online Safety Act” (S.1748), introduced by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), seeks to provide young people and their parents with tools, safeguards, and information that would be helpful to safely navigate online services. This bill is awaiting consideration by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, of which I am not a member.

I voted in favor of this bill on the Senate floor last Congress because I believe many of its provisions would meaningfully help protect the health, wellbeing, and safety of children and teens online. I take seriously your concerns that this bill may have negatively impacted individual privacy and freedom of expression online. The sponsors made substantive changes to the bill aimed at mitigating those very issues, which is why I ultimately felt comfortable supporting the bill on the floor.

Please know that I appreciate hearing your perspective on this important issue, and I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue working with my Senate colleagues on issues that address the experiences of minors online.

Once again, thank you for writing. Should you have any other questions or comments, please call my Washington, D.C. office at...

Due to corporate influence, no number of letters will move these congress critters to do anything in the interests of the average person. We sadly live in the world we live in now due to the lies told to generations of children that voting is all you need to do and that the system is designedtoo uphold our rights. Can political pressure work? Yes, but it requires doing things that make politicians uncomfortable, which might include, God forbid, clapping at a fucking city council meeting.

For those who are hard of hearing or understanding: if you think that violence (as in laying hands on someone) is an appropriate response to being mildly inconvenienced, you have some screwy values and should have a look at that.

This is exactly what MLK was talking about re: the white moderate preferring a negative peace to the pursuit of justice. Fuck that noise.